Brothers Together
by Missbooie
Summary: How will Ethan cope while attending his first car crash incident since returning to work?
1. Chapter 1

'Major RTC on Jaberly Road. Two casualties incoming another three trapped and seriously injured. Requesting two doctors on site.' Ian's voice was loud through the radio system in the hospital reception. Zoe, as the senior doctor on call, responded simply with 'They're on their way. Over.'  
'Cal! Ethan!'  
The two brothers came running over- they had both been enjoying a quiet night shift, standing the other side of reception talking to each other when the call came in.  
'Three seriously injured, trapped patients. Two doctors have been requested.'  
'Do we have any more information?' Caleb was quick to respond  
'No, not yet- but it's dark and icy so be careful.'  
'Got it!' Cal beat his brother to respond in an optimistic manner, he didn't notice that Ethan was more reluctant to attend the crash.

Having grabbed their high-visibility jackets they jumped into the Ambulance MERIT (Medical Emergency Response Incident Team) car parked outside. Cal got into the driver's seat and set up the GPS as Ethan got into the passenger's seat and set up the radio to contact Ian and Dixie.  
'Ethan and Caleb are on their way ETA 5 mins'  
The radio screamed the message from Zoe at the two doctors in the car.  
Cal winced 'You might want to turn that down mate'  
Ethan blushed and reduced the volume on the radio as they set off to the crash site. As Cal turned to look at his brother he noticed a hint of stress and fear in his face, even though he was trying desperately to hide it. Ethan's physical injuries had healed long ago but the mental impact had meant that he was reluctant to drive and also reluctant to attend crash-sites. None of the other staff had noticed- or if they had they had kept it quiet.


	2. Chapter 2

'Holby Hospital- we are still waiting on your two doctors- two more of the casualties have been freed but one is still trapped. Have the two previously sent casualties arrived?'  
They had. An uneasy atmosphere settled in the ED. Cal and Ethan had left over half an hour ago- they should have been at the scene by now.  
Meanwhile, on a country lane, in the middle of nowhere a car lay upturned in the middle of the road, the two occupants hung from their seat belts, both unconscious, both bleeding heavily. The blue lights flickering underneath them...


	3. Chapter 3

Ian again called on the radio- well over an hour since his original call. 'You doctors still haven't graced us with their presence. We have extracted all casualties and we are trying to stabilise them. We are going to take them to St. James because their on-call cardio surgeon is already there.' Ian's voice was harder than usual- it was strange for him to lose his calm, jokey manner and his voice seemed more military then ever- today obviously was busy and needed the doctors.  
'Recieved.'  
Zoe paced around reception- where were Cal and Ethan? Even though Cal was sometimes late for work he never missed a job- neither did he leave midway through a shift- neither of them did. Ethan was never late and always incredibly organised. Where could they be?  
Lily approached Zoe, 'Have you seen Ethan and Dr Knight?', she needn't have asked- the worried look on Zoe's face made Lily take a sharp intake of air. Zoe tried to comfort the young doctor- she knew how close Lily and Ethan were, but she also knew that she was close with Caleb, even though not as much. The two young doctors were a large part of the team and were much liked by staff and patients alike- Zoe tried not to think about the effect it could have on the team if something happened to them. It had been hard enough when Ethan, Ash, Lily, Connie and Tess had been in an accident but they were found quickly- the same accident killed paramedic Jeff, after the evacuated people carrier had exploded. Not all the staff had recovered yet from his death- Zoe doubted the team could function if it lost two more members. There had to be a reasonable explanation to where they were- there just had to.


	4. Chapter 4

Cal and Ethan awoke together, they were both greeted by the same, strange surroundings- never ending blinding whiteness all around them, there was nothing around them except for a small wooden table and three wooden chairs, the brothers glanced at each other before making their way towards the chairs and sitting down. This wasn't right- they both knew that but they didn't know anything else. The brothers glanced at each other , then glanced at the chair before once again glancing at each other- all of this in exact synchronisation... Suddenly a woman sat in front of them- she was smiling, her eyes laughing as she starred into the eyes of the two men in front of her. Ethan squinted at her and frowned before a beam spread across his face  
'Mum!'  
Where Ethan leant forward to inspect the woman thoroughly, Cal sat back in his chair and silently watched on as they talked - engrossed in their own conversation. The woman then turned to Caleb and the looked intently into each other's eyes- they too had a conversation, but theirs was not through words it was through telepathic eye contact. Then it all went black...

An emergency call came through to the emergency department  
'Hello, I saw a blue lighted car driving down the road earlier, then I heard the bang, like a sound of two cars hitting each other, then I saw the blue lights making all sorts of shapes, but now I can only see a faint blue glow.'  
This sounded bad. Zoe notes down the address of the caller- because there was no specific address to where this 'incident' had happened.  
Zoe updated control who in turn updated the paramedics who had just dropped of the car accident patient at St. James'. Then she hoped that the strange blue glow wasn't a Ambulance MERIT car, and that Ethan and Caleb weren't inside.


	5. Chapter 5

Dixie stood paralysed with the upturned Ambulance MERIT car in front of her- this was horrible- yet again she was treating a car with her mates inside- last time that happened she lost part of herself as the people carrier blew up. If they weren't in the Ambulance Response car they would have been unidentifiable, both of the young doctors were soaked in their own, and each other's blood . There was a large car-shaped dent in the side of the Ambulance MERIT car, as if they had been smashed into. Their life-less bodies were now slumped against the roof of the vehicle making them impossible to reach- the fire service were on their way but not having known how long they were trapped and not knowing what injuries they had sustained Dixie didn't want to wait too long for them. As if on cue a fire engine pulled up behind them with another ambulance and police. The police closed the road as Dixie ran over to Paul and Frankie as the climbed out of their ambulance, 'Ian will brief you- I'm going to call Zoe and tell her that it's our lot.'

As the other paramedics and firemen made their ways towards the car and Ian, Dixie got into her ambulance and sighed heavily before updating Zoe in the ED.


	6. Chapter 6

The call finally came into the ED, but it was not good news. Zoe continued to pace around reception until she figured out what she was going to say. Zoe managed to keep a lid on her emotions so that she could tell the rest of the team.  
'Can you gather around please. I'm afraid there has been an accident involving our Ambulance MERIT crew. Dr Hardy and Dr Knight are both trapped and in a bad way- ambulance and fire service are trying to get them out as we speak. It does mean that we are now really understaffed with Connie, Dylan, Lofty and Max on day shifts, Rita and Tess off with flu and now the accident, not to mention the fact that we were understaffed in the first place. I see if I can arrange a spare nurse and probably another doctor to help us out. Charlie and Lily you will work on Cal when he comes and Robyn you'll work on Ethan with me- in the meantime work in cubicles- there aren't many though so it should be alright.' After her speech Zoe went back to pacing the floor before grabbing the phone and calling an old friend-  
'Hello this is Zoe Hanna from the ED- is that Serena from AAU? ... Yes? ... I understand that Nurse Fletcher is on call tonight. ... He used to work down here with us- I'm afraid two of our doctors have been involved in a serious RTC, and we were already understaffed. Could you spare him for the rest of the evening? ... Thank you very much Serena, good bye.' Zoe put down the phone and let out a sigh. Fletch hadn't worked in the ED for a while but Zoe was sure she could rely on him, that only left her to find a doctor, the two doctors that sprung to mind were Sam Nicholls and Tom Kent, however they left Holby Hospital around a year ago and now they had a young daughter to look after. They were both now working in St. Margaret's ED, a small hospital on the outskirts of Bristol. Zoe felt reluctant to call- after all they chose to leave Holby Hospital and hadn't been heard from since, and they were nearly an hour away.

Zoe picked up the phone and dialled St. Margaret's.  
'Dr Sam Nicholls or Dr Tom Kent please.'  
Zoe was greeted by the two of the answering the phone together.  
'Hi guys- sorry to spring this on you but is there any chance one of you could give us a hand over here? We are seriously understaffed and two of our doctors have been seriously injured in an RTC in an Ambulance MERIT Car.'  
There was silence on the other end until Sam said  
'On my way.'  
Zoe breathed a sigh of relief- the staffing issue may have been resolved for now- now she had the more pressing issue of the injured doctors to deal with.


	7. Chapter 7

Cal and Ethan were still trapped in the car, a decision had to be made on how to get them out- they had been trapped for at least an hour since the first ambulance arrived and no one knew how long they had been trapped before that.  
Dixie addressed the other three paramedics  
'We are going to get them out now- we'll get them out together. Attach a collar and try and pull them out- it's far to dangerous to try and turn the car around and there's no other way that we can get them out. Ian you're with me on Ethan- Paul, Frankie your treating Cal.'  
The paramedics collared the two young doctors before sliding them out of the car. Dixie was amazed at how light Ethan was, but her amazement quickly turned to shock as she saw the full extent of his injuries. Ethan had open fractures to both legs and a deep laceration to his right shoulder. He was loosing a lot of blood. Cal was in a similar state- he too had open fractures on his legs but they seemed to be the worst of his visible injuries. There was still a high possibility of internal bleeding around their hearts and brains as well as in their abdomens. Having both been attached to saline drips, secured on spinal boards and intubated they were loaded onto the waiting ambulances. As Dixie loaded Ethan into the ambulance she noticed a fresh amount of blood on his scrubs appearing around his left shoulder- Dixie cut the fabric back to reveal his collarbone puncturing his skin, she cut down the rest of his top so that she could get a clear look at his chest- her eyes were drawn to a small scar on the left side of his chest, a reminder of the last time he was in an ambulance...


	8. Chapter 8

Dixie handed over a bloody Ethan to Zoe at the ED- despite all her training and experience she was shocked to see the young doctor in such a state, his usually laughing eyes were closed, his olive skin painted red by his own blood. He was unrecognisable. Cal seemed in a slightly better state- he too was an unconscious, bloody mess but his injuries seemed less serious. Outside Sam pulled into the car park. Lily took one look at Cal and Ethan before running out of the hospital with tears streaming down her face. Having seen a doctor run out of the ED Sam quickly ran in, much to Zoe's relief.

Cal and Ethan were taken for x-rays and CT scans but they both arrested before any scan could happen. Unaware of the other brother both Zoe and Sam performed successful tension pneumothorax procedures to relieve the pressure around their hearts. Zoe and Sam worked through the night on the two young doctors as they visited different machines for various scans and then spent time in theatre to operate on their legs and Ethan's collarbone. By the time Connie and the other staff arrived both brothers were in a critical but stable condition. The entire team was in a state of shock to see the young doctors' conditions.

The long beeping monitor sound was ominous- the team starred at each other in mute shock. Zoe and Connie ran into Ethan's side room, they worked in silence trying to restart the young doctor's heart. Seconds turned to minutes as they repeated shock and CPR cycles with no change in his condition. The rest of the team poured into the side room as they arrived for the shifts. After an hour it was called. With tears in her eyes Connie unplugged Ethan from the monitors, she stood at the foot of the bed and looked into a face that would never grow old, would never laugh again or even speak again. Tears streamed down the teams faces as they looked at the dead doctor. Connie was the first to leave, until just Lily, Robyn and Lofty remained in the room with their friend. It was too soon. He was too young. He had so much left to do. And everyone knew that.


	9. Chapter 9

Zoe called Sam, who had left two hours ago to update her- it went to voicemail:  
'Hi Sam, It's Zoe from Holby ED. I'm afraid to have to say that Dr Ethan Hardy has passed away. Thank you for all your help this evening.'  
It had just occurred to her that she hadn't seen Fletch all night- she was too busy focusing on Ethan to notice the nurse guide Lily to cubicles and help her treat the few patients that were waiting and then sneak out not long after Sam left.

The rest of the shift passed in a blur, the team worked in mute shock with pained looks on their faces. Occasionally they checked on the other young doctor- who they would have to tell eventually about his brother's state. The shift schedules were changed to adapt to Cal's condition, and Ethan's death but no one mentioned the second reason. Hours turned to days with no change in Cal's condition. The decision was made to cremate Ethan's body but let Cal scatter them where and when he liked. Nothing felt right anymore- despite the busy hospital the staff felt abandoned, desperate for one of the countless arguments between Cal and Ethan. Lily frequently broke down in the staff room and was inconsolable, when Tess recovered from her bout of flu she was shocked to find her one of the young doctors dead and the other in a coma. In all the mayhem, shock and grieving no one had been able to tell her of the unfortunate events.


	10. Chapter 10

Days turned to weeks as Cal lay in a coma, Ethan's ashes in an urn next to him. Christmas drew close but no one was feeling particularly festive- the entire team were finding it harder to cope during the holiday period- two of the most loved personalities were gone and would never return. It was worsened as they saw families draw together- they knew that Ethan was Cal's only remaining family and that he was now alone.

Christmas came and went with no change in Cal's condition. Then, in the middle of the night, late in January, while Robyn was checking Cal's vitals she saw him open his eyes.  
'Cal, Cal it's Robyn, your at Holby hospital.'  
His eyes widened, Robyn didn't want to know what he was thinking, but she had an idea- it was to do with Ethan and the crash. Robyn could do nothing but hold his hand and repeatedly say 'It's going to be okay.' while stroking his hair.  
'Ethan...' Cal's voice was hoarse from a mix of emotion and the coma.  
Lofty walked in, followed by Connie.  
'Hello mate' Lofty's voice was gentle but didn't seem as happy as he remembered.  
Cal struggled to sit up but refused to give in  
'Where is he?!'  
Connie exchanged worried glances with the two nurses- they still hadn't figured out how to tell him about Ethan. Lofty couldn't bear the silence any more- he had to know.  
'Cal- Ethan's right next to you.'  
Robyn supported Cal as he turned round to see the Urn. Silent, angry tears streamed down his face, he was joined in his emotional display by Lofty and Robyn, Connie just stood watching them all, unable to speak, unable to look Cal in the eye. Connie knew she should say about how Ethan wasn't in pain and that there was nothing more they could do, but Cal knew all that- he didn't need to be told, if anything he would find it insulting- an intelligent doctor being told something that he had said many times.  
'He was still weakened from the last accident- it meant that he wasn't as strong as you. We think it was a brain haemorrhage.' Connie said with tears in the eyes. She couldn't look at him any more- he was normally so energetic, so passionate but when she looked at the broken man in front of her it broke her heart. After a mumbled apology she left the room, leaving Robyn and Lofty with Cal who had managed to compose himself.  
'I want to go'  
Cal knew this was impossible- that he was stuck here for a long time- he had seen how long it took Ethan to recover from the minibus crash. Just thinking of him put a lump in his throat.  
'Cal- you know the rules, but I can take you round the department in a wheelchair if you're desperate' Robyn's voice was soft- even her kindness made him want to cry.  
'No- I'll walk.' Cal said through gritted teeth, he attempted to sit up and swing his legs over the side of the bed but the strength simply wasn't there.  
'Fine I'll use the chair.' Cal didn't want to accept defeat but he knew the nurses were just doing what was best for him.  
As Lofty returned with the wheelchair Robyn helped Caleb to move himself to the edge of the bed. Previously unaware of the state of his legs he could only stare at them in shock when they hung over the bed. There was scarring and the remains of stitches which were waiting to be removed. He starred at Lofty before back at his legs.  
'You had open fractures to both of your legs- you were operated on not long after you came in, while you were in your coma they had chance to heal but don't expect to be weight bearing just yet.'  
Caleb had the answer before the question had even passed his lips. Robyn held the chair while Lofty carried him off the bed and onto the chair. Lofty wheeled the chair around the room before heading towards the door, Robyn stopped them so she could place a blanket over Cal's legs and lower chest.

The two nurses wheeled the doctor around the whole department, occasionally being stopped and talked to by the rest of the department. As Cal was being wheeled back to his room he realised something- they had avoided the staff room.  
'Lofty I need to go to the staff room,' his voice was calm at first, but he said it again with aggression in his voice 'I need to go to the staff room'  
Lofty began to say that it wasn't a good idea but having seen the look on Cal's face he knew that he knew that already. Silently they made their way to the staff room. Unusually it was empty- there was nearly always someone in here- napping or having coffee to wake themselves up. Cal saw his locker and Ethan's locker next to each other. He attempted to stand up but failed causing angry tears to roll down his face. Lofty stepped forward and helped Caleb to stand and walk slowly to his brother's locker, he stroked it lovingly like it was his brother rather than a cold mental cabinet filled with memories. Tears continued to stream down his face unceasingly, but he opened the door anyway- Ethan's textbooks were stacked neatly, photos covered the back and sides of the locker, his spare scrubs were folded neatly into the corner, next to the clothes he had worn to work on the day he never returned. Cal reached in and grabbed them, pulling them close to his chest, continuing to weep. Then it went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Cal awoke in his hospital bed, Ethan's clothes still next to him. He must have passed out in the staff room. There was a wheel chair on one side of the room and a pair of crutches to his right. Lofty walked in with a worried look on his face- his concern seemed to vanish as he noticed that Cal was conscious. Cal missed Ethan more than he had ever thought was possible. Lofty attempted to make small talk with his friend but it was clear that Cal wasn't paying any attention- especially when he was interrupted mid sentence.  
'What's the the date today?'  
Lofty was taken aback by the question- Cal had said very little recently.  
'Its...erm...the 29th of January. Why?'  
Cal gave no response, leaving Lofty only to guess at what he was thinking. Lofty sighed heavily before leaving his room. It was only after leaving that he realised- the 30th of January was Ethan's birthday. He quickly reminded the other staff- most of whom were already aware and teared up as they thought of Ethan.

The following day was full of tears, it started with Lofty and Robyn checking on Cal- the two nurses left in tears, after the display of emotion on both Cal's part and the nurses' no one dared to go into his room, with the fear of upsetting him further- he wasn't strong enough to cope with the emotional turmoil, not yet anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

Cal knew there was only one way to take his mind off things- drinking himself senseless. Having spent what felt like forever lying in a bed he had managed to learn the nurses' and the doctors' schedules. Ignoring the pain in his chest Cal pulled himself to the side of the bed and leant forward to grab the crutches that Robyn had left a few days ago. He sat frozen on the edge of the bed with the crutches. It would be obvious to everyone that he was leaving if he left in his hospital gown- he leant back over the bed and grabbed Ethan's clothes. He put the shirt and jacket on, followed by the trousers, after cursing the fact that they were too short he took everything off and put his hospital gown back on. He snuck out of his room and to the staff room where his found his own clothes, a spare pair of shoes and his wallet. Cal got changed as quickly as his body would allow him to before stuffing the hospital gown into his locker. As he hobbled out of the staff room he smiled despite everything that was happening- every step he took he felt stronger and stronger. Cal left the ED through the main entrance- now he was in his own clothes no one was looking too closely at him and with his crutches he now just looked like a patient.

Cal hobbled across the road to the pub- it would be hours before anyone from the hospital came at the end of their shift. Cal knew that he shouldn't drink in his condition, after all he was a doctor, but he also knew that the only thing that could stop the never ending pain of losing his brother even for a short while was drinking a lot of booze- something he was very good at. It started off with a beer, then a vodka shot and then more beer and shots. Cal saw the clock in the pub- only 20 minutes until the staff would be finishing their shifts- Cal pulled himself to his feet and struggled to use the crutches to take him out of the pub.

Lofty and Robyn got changed from their scrubs, and made their way to Cal's room. After the morning neither of them had dared to go back into his room, and since word had spread about his emotional reaction to Ethan's birthday, no one else had been in either.  
'Cal- it's Lofty and Robyn, we're...' Robyn stopped mid sentence- he wasn't there. The crutches had gone and Ethan's clothes were in a messy heap on the bed- as if someone had taken them off and abandoned them. Lofty rushed out the room to find Connie closely followed by Robyn who was rushing to find Charlie. They found them together in Connie's office- flexible retirement plans scattered on the desk. The two nurses burst in and blurted  
'Its Cal- he's gone'  
Both Connie's and Charlie's eyes widened. They abandoned what they were doing and rushed out the office.

No one had seen Cal for hours. They found his hospital gown in his locker and found his wallet, spare clothes and shoes missing. It wasn't said out loud but Connie, Charlie, Robyn and Lofty all knew where he would be- the pub.

Robyn and Lofty were the first to arrive, followed by Charlie and eventually Connie- none of the customers said that they had seen him and only comment the bar keeper had was that he had too many customers to remember everyone that came in. It was only when they left the pub and were on their way back to the hospital that Charlie spotted a lonesome crutch at the top of an ally way. The three nurses and Connie made their way towards the ally, not far from the crutch Lofty picked up a black, tattered letter wallet- it was completely empty except for a hospital ID card. They continued to walk down the ally when they saw him- lying unconscious, swimming in his own blood was Caleb.


	13. Chapter 13

Connie started another cycle of CPR while Robyn tried to stem the bleeding on the three abdominal stab wounds and the chest stab wound, Charlie and Lofty had ran back to the ED to get a trolley and, if available, an ambulance- they were too close to the hospital to call for an ambulance so they had to make do with the old first aid kit from the pub. Luckily Dixie and Ian were outside the ED having just unloaded a patient with abdominal pain. The ambulance sped across the road to where Connie and Robyn were desperately trying to save Cal.

It was futile- he had lost too much blood from the stab wounds, one of the stab wounds had punctured his heart and left lung and the large amount of alcohol was affecting his body significantly and he hadn't still recovered from the tension pneumothorax that was performed after the crash. The team gathered at the foot of Cal's bed. In less that 6 months they had lost two amazing young doctors and a brilliant paramedic. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, it was silent apart from the occasional sob or sniff.


	14. Chapter 14

Cal could see Ethan who's back was turned to him- he was laughing at what looked like the rest of the whiteness that surrounded them. He turned around to see his older brother- the two of them walked towards each other and then held each other in an embrace that would last forever.

With no family left the team made the decision to cremate Cal and as Ethan's ashes were still in Cal's room they decided to mix the ashes with some soil and plant a tree outside the ED where all the staff could see it and remember the brothers. A small memorial plaque was attached to the pot 'Brothers together in life and death. RIP Dr Ethan Hardy and Dr Caleb Knight.'. It was hoped that the tree would grow old and see the years that the two young doctors never saw.

They would never be forgotten- for that would be impossible, there were too many memories of the brothers in the hospital- arguing, laughing, working, competing and living.


End file.
